All-Employee Parties
Thank you for celebrating the work we do together this September. A good time was had by all — not even the snow in Gaylord could bring us down. What a fantastic team we have!
A message from our Assistant Director of Donated Goods Josh Olds: Protect Yourself and Your Team!
Everyone that I know is tired of the subject of masks. I am, too. But I have seen close up the impact the virus has on our team members and their families. We work in a high-risk area right now, so I urge you to protect yourself and others, please. The best way is to get vaccinated. If you’ve been waiting for full FDA approval before being vaccinated, good news! The Pfizer vaccine has received non-emergency approval, and it’s free and available in a convenient location near you. Until all of our employees are vaccinated or the risk level falls in our area, masks are required inside Goodwill Northern Michigan workplaces. Thanks for helping to keep all employees safe and healthy.
MEET LISA NELSON,
OUR NEW CFO
We’re excited to welcome Lisa Nelson as our new Chief Financial Officer. Lisa’s deep financial leadership experience, background in housing, and vision for community development make her a great fit.
Lisa is excited to put her 25 years of finance and accounting executive experience to work in building our long- term financial sustainability.
She will lead process and technology improvements that will make us more efficient, effective, and nimble as we work to ensure access to housing and nutritious food for people in our region.
Lisa will also provide expertise on affordable housing development as Goodwill Northern Michigan seeks ways to increase housing options for people experiencing homelessness in our region.
Lisa replaces former Director of Finance Christine Ruszel, who helped lead Goodwill Northern Michigan through the pandemic and built financial stability during her three years in the role.
We look forward to Lisa’s contributions to our work as we use our community- supported social enterprise to bring food to neighbors and help people find home.
Nora Dunlop
NORA DUNLOP is our new department leader, bringing 17 years of experience in social services to the table as we work together with our Coalition partners to ensure that families, adults, and children have access to safe and secure places to live in our region.
TRACY DAVIS is our new Operations Manager at the Goodwill Inn, coming to us after doing similar work in West Michigan. She is excited to lead the Inn’s committed, patient, and resilient team in providing emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
JOHN SABATINI is our Adult Outreach Manager, managing a team of outreach workers as they help guide people living unsheltered to resources and housing.
TARA DEGROOT manages our youth outreach efforts and engages other community agencies in the work of ensuring that young people under the age of 24 are able to access safe and secure housing.
RACHEL MCGINLEY manages our family outreach and housing support efforts, helping people access and maintain long-term housing success after experiencing homelessness.
And RYAN HANNON is now our new Community Engagement Officer, working to engage partners, government agencies, and the whole community in the work of ending homelessness.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Our CADILLAC and GAYLORD teams hit
$1 MILLION
in annual sales for the first time ever,
joining Traverse City and Petoskey on the list of
stores to reach this height. Congratulations!
